Chandrayaan Images

Neil Armstrong, first man on the moon, dies

Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, has died today August 25 2012.

Armstrong was commander of the Apollo 11 mission that made the first manned lunar landing on July 20, 1969. He had undergone heart surgery Aug. 8, three days after his 82nd birthday. His family said that Armstrong had died from post-surgery complications

"We are heartbroken to share the news that Neil Armstrong has passed away following complications resulting from cardiovascular procedures,'' the family said in a statement. "Neil was our loving husband, father, grandfather, brother and friend."

Armstrong flew into space twice. He made his first journey in 1966 as commander of the Gemini 8 mission,

During his next space trip in July 1969, Armstrong and fellow astronauts Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins blasted off in Apollo 11 on a nearly 250,000-mile journey to the moon that went down in the history books.

Then came the words from Armstrong: "Tranquility Base here, the Eagle has landed."The world watched and waited as the lunar module "Eagle" separated from the command module and began its descent.It took them four days to reach their destination.

He uttered the now-famous phrase: "That's one small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind."About six and a half hours later at 10:56 p.m. ET on July 20, 1969, Armstrong, at age 38, became the first person to set foot on the moon.